We created design sketches to explore theoretical implementation of the product we are designing. This process allows us to better visualize and decide on what kind of product will best fit the needs of our user. The design sketches were created using the 10 x 10 method, in which we first draw 10 sketches detailing the 10 various ideas that we have that could be feasible for the product, and then choosing the most optimistic sketch of those. After that, we would sketch 10 variations on those sketches. This process gives us a breadth of ideas (with the former 10 sketches), and a large depth of ideas (with the latter 10 sketches). Looking at our sketches themselves, there is not much need to detail what they do — while some sketches are great ideas, often times they were either lackluster or missing in details that were present in our optimal sketch (and some of the sketches were mostly goofy or silly ideas that may have had a place in some user’s world). The sketch we all decided on was a phone app, as this was the best way to connect to our user base, and it utilized a ubiquitous medium for our user group.

The design sketches stage saw us coming up with many ideas (watch apps, heatmap, navigation guidance) that specifically addressed the need of our personas and scenarios, and which carried over to the paper prototype and wireframe stage.

The storyboards were dynamic scenarios for our personas (or variation of our personas). The storyboards are usually 3–4 visual frames of a user being presented a problem that could be solved using our design product. They are visualization of the two former artifacts, the persona and the scenario. By having this visual feedback, we are able to better see how we should design our product in order to best fit the user’s needs. Storyboard are more or less extensions of the scenarios in the previous section; however the main difference is that

Storyboards provide rich visual feedback

By having detailed visualization of the situation that our users may find themselves in and their behavior that will follow, it allows us to be able to establish a better platform for creating purposeful, pragmatic, and elegant designs.